Effect of church sponsorship on management of public secondary schools in Kiambu Sub-County, Kenya
Loading...
Date
2015-12
Authors
Kihanya, Leah Njeri
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
Volume Title
Publisher
Kenyatta University
Abstract
Church sponsors are expected to participate in the preparation of religious education
syllabus, provide guidance on school staffing, implement education policies, search
for new approaches to education in Kenya and conduct resource mobilization for
their sponsored schools (Education Act, 2013). As such, the current study sought to
establish the effect of church sponsorship in management of public secondary
schools in Kiambu Sub-County. The study was guided by the following objectives:
to determine the perception of teachers and parents on the role of the sponsor; to
determine the perception of teachers and parents on the role of the sponsor in
management of church-sponsored schools; to find out areas of conflict in
management of public secondary schools; to establish the effects of church sponsors
in management of schools; to establish the challenges headteachers face in relation
to church sponsorship in management of public secondary schools; and to propose
strategies of enhancing good leadership in public secondary schools in Kiambu
Sub-County.The study was based on role theory by Biddle (1979). The study
employed a descriptive survey design targeting 12 principals, 96 PTA
representatives, 180 teachers, 3 church sponsor representatives and the area
education officer. Simple random sampling was used to select 18 teachers and 12
PTA representatives. Purposive sampling was used to select 6 principals, 3 church
sponsor representatives and the District Education Officer, totalling to 40
respondents. Questionnaires and interviews were used to collect data from
headteachers, teachers and parents while an interview schedule was used to conduct
face- to-face interview with the District Education Officer. Qualitative data was
analysed thematically in line with the study objectives. The findings were presented
using frequency distribution tables, bar graphs and pie charts. The study established
that over 80.0% of the respondents cited the major roles played by the sponsors in
the school as spiritual nourishment, assisting in the school governance and
participation in the school board of management. The major areas of conflict among
the sponsors and the school administrators as reported by majority of respondents
(over 60.0%) were management of funds and superiority complex. Other areas of
conflicts included conflict of interest between the sponsors and other stakeholders on
.the appointment of the BoM and conflicts related to school academic performance.
The study further revealed that over 50.0% of the respondents stated that churchsponsored
schools had more enhanced spiritual guidance among students and staff
members and they have strong culture that enabled them to perform well. Regarding
challenges faced by the headteachers in the management of church-sponsored
schools; the study found that over 80.0% of the respondents sponsors ordered all
students to attend their service irrespective of their denomination, appointment of
the BoM members, high expectation from the sponsors in terms of academic
attainment, a lot of bureaucracy among the sponsors, hatred from some sponsors and
inadequate leadership skills from some of the leaders appointed by the church. The
study recommends that there is need to have clear policies regarding the different
roles of all those involved in running church-sponsored schools. This would assist
in avoiding some of the conflicts encountered in the school administration; among
other recommendations.
Description
A research project submitted to the department of educational management, policy and
curriculum studies in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the Award of Master of
Education Degree of Kenyatta University. December 2015